PBEC weren’t able to get off to a winning team start but they did finish the day above two of the 14 other provinces, thanks to Reedy’s unbeaten performance and a first-up win to No.4 Simon Jeune.
The 15th and bottom-seeded PBEC side lost 3½ to 1½ to Northland in the morning and 4-1 to defending champions Auckland in the afternoon.
Reedy’s sensational form on his home Poverty Bay course leading up to the week-long Freyberg Masters signalled he was well on track to produce something special in Auckland.
He looked set to start with a loss to former New Zealand representative Saali Herewini only to come back from 2-down with four holes to play for a half. It included winning the 18th. Both players found the bunker but Herewini had what was described as a lie so deeply poached, the yolk had gone hard.
Reedy up-and-downed for his par. Herewini, who competed on the Australasia and South Pacific pro tours before returning to the amateur ranks, was unable to reciprocate.
Jeune got his tournament off to a perfect start with a 4 and 3 victory over Scott Wilson but there were no winning debuts for No.2 Tony Akroyd or No.5 Stefan Andreassen.
Akroyd lost 3 and 2 to Brett Dormer. Andreassen went down 5 and 4 to Bob Shirley. No.3 Pete Anderson fell 4 and 3 to Peter Bone.
Reedy’s recent form has included a swag of birdies and several eagles.
Facing two-time Eisenhower Trophy New Zealand representative Paterson, who was going in fresh from winning the Asia Pacific senior crown, Reedy clearly was going to need his A-game.
He delivered, throwing five birdies at Paterson in the sort of display his regular Sunday morning club cohorts have enjoyed watching for many weeks now.
Underlining the scale of Reedy’s achievement, Paterson last year was unbeaten in seven rounds and has been playing some of the best golf of his career.
But so, too, has Reedy.
The Aucklanders proved too strong in the other matches. Akroyd lost 3 and 1 to James Gardiner, Anderson 4 and 3 to Gareth Chitty, Jeune 3 and 2 to Scott Robertson and Andreassen 6 and 5 to Brett Steven.
Sports fans will remember Steven as New Zealand’s No.1 tennis pro, who reached No.32 in the world singles rankings, was a quarterfinalist at the 1993 Australian Open and competed at the 1996 Olympic Games before retiring in 1999.
Anderson said despite no team success and several of them — himself included — struggling to read the quick and “troublesome” Whitford Park greens, they were in good spirits and feeling positive going into today’s rounds against Tasman and North Harbour.
Auckland-based former Gisborne golfer David Solomann was to make his masters debut this morning, as Jeune was unavailable.
